The Murphy Builders Site

Hi all,

The SR builders manuals says after building the fuel
tanks to 'temporarily seal the (tank) access covers
and pressure test the tank. Whats the best way to
'temporarily' seal the access covers?

Thanks,

-Jason

=====
________________________________________________

Jason Beall
Super Rebel No. 131
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
super_rebel131@yahoo.com

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Hi Jason

I used a latex glove. Taped it on with electrical tape. Make sure you really
tape it good so you don't get a leak hear. I then put some fittings together
with a pressure gauge on it which screwed into the fuel outlet. Manual says
to put up to 3lbs. in it. go easy, this may blow the wing up. A lb. is
enough, just enough to inflate the glove. Leave it over night. Barring any
barometric pressure change, the glove should still look inflated in the
morning.

Good luck

Murray Cherkas




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to 'temporarily seal the (tank) access covers
and pressure test the tank. What's the best way to
'temporarily' seal the access covers?

Hi Jason,

We cut a peice of lexan to match the hole.
We then used Silicone caulk and about six rivets.
We installed 4 covers in each tank and they did not leak.

The leaks we did find we stopped with the caulk until we had them all
identified.

Hope this helps,
Regards,
Don Boardman
& Partner
Randy Bowers
Moose #130 "The Beast" M-14PF 400HP MT-prop Aerocet 3500 amphibs Rome, NY





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Don, did you guys find many leaks on your FB wings? Brian had mentioned it
would be a good idea to go over everything we could reach with some thin
proseal. We haven't worked with the gunk yet.

Do you know off the top of your head the approx. weight of your floats?

Scott
#174SR









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Don, did you guys find many leaks on your FB wings? Brian had mentioned it
would be a good idea to go over everything we could reach with some thin
proseal. We haven't worked with the gunk yet.

Hi Scott, we did find a few leaks in our FB wings. They were supposed to be
tested but we found leaks in areas of the tank where doing the upgrade work
was not a factor.
We used both "putty" and brushable proseal. Both work fine for what they are
designed for. What makes the process challenging is working through the
rather small access hole. Patience.

Do you know off the top of your head the approx. weight of your floats?

The Areocet amphibs weigh in at 638 lb installed.

Regards,
Don Boardman
& Partner, Randy Bowers
Moose #130 "The Beast" M-14PF 400HP, MT-prop, Aerocet 3500 amphibs, Rome, NY





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Thanks Don,

My tanks take up 6 bays and have inspection holes in only three. The center
flap hinge bracket is in a bay with no inspection hole. I wasn't sure if
all the tank ribs were solid or if I could maybe reach through to another
bay. I can't, I just popped off the temp rivets and no way to get into
those three bays. I am leaning toward just pressure testing and if there is
a leak in one of those bays then make inspection hole. If not, leave it
alone for now. I would feel better if the center flap hinge had been put on
with a large anchor nut, like I believe Wayne does. I suspect the chances
of the fiber lock nut, with all the proseal on it, ever going any place is
very slim. Would have liked it if they had put the bolt in with the nuts
showing.

Are the Putty type and the brush able completely different Proseal products
or is it the ratio you mix it up??

Thanks for the weights on your floats.

Scott
#174SR







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My tanks take up 6 bays and have inspection holes in only three. The center
flap hinge bracket is in a bay with no inspection hole. I wasn't sure if
all the tank ribs were solid or if I could maybe reach through to another
bay. I can't, I just popped off the temp rivets and no way to get into
those three bays. I am leaning toward just pressure testing and if there is
a leak in one of those bays then make inspection hole. If not, leave it
alone for now. I would feel better if the center flap hinge had been put on
with a large anchor nut, like I believe Wayne does. I suspect the chances
of the fiber lock nut, with all the proseal on it, ever going any place is
very slim. Would have liked it if they had put the bolt in with the nuts
showing.

Sounds like a plan. We have four bays and had to add two inspection holes
ending up with four inspection holes.

Are the Putty type and the brush able completely different Proseal products
or is it the ratio you mix it up??

The two proseals are different products. Randy, my partner, has the source
and product numbers if you need that info.

Later,
Don




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Don will shoot you the float weight. YES !!!!! we found many and still have not fixed all the leaks. Very messy and difficult to get to them all. One wing all sealed and tested good. Other wing i am strugling with a leak that is on a stringer. Several rivets are leaking on the same stringer. Sounds simple since we know where the leak is located. Problem is you can't see where you are trying to seal. Will try the third attempt soon. Good luck.
Randy Bowers SR130

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Putty and brushable are different sealants.

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Randy, Don,
Thanks for the info, Sounds like I will most likely be adding inspection holes to chase down leaks..

-----Original Message-----
From: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com [mailto:murphy-rebel@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of RJBWoodman@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 5:02 AM
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: testing tanks


Putty and brushable are different sealants.

In a message dated 8/8/02 5:59:18 AM Central Daylight Time, RJBWoodman@aol.com writes:

Other wing i am strugling with a leak that is on a stringer. Several rivets are leaking on the same stringer. Sounds simple since we know where the leak is located. Problem is you can't see where you are trying to seal. Will try the third attempt soon. Good luck.
Randy Bowers SR130

RANDY
I had a problem working inside of my Rebel tanks through the assess holes, couldn't see the area I needed to work on. Took a small security camera I had and the TV monitor shoved the camera and a flash light in the tank and could see any where I pointed the camera.
Phil&Lisa Smith
N414D
R460

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You know, guys, something that worked really well, for me, was to use a vacuum pump to pull just a slight negative pressure on the tank and paint on sealant on the outside, where the leak was. This pulled the sealant into the crevice. My theory was that it was not only easier, but actually pulled the sealant into the crack, as opposed to painting on the outside. Once done, I've never had a recurrence of leaking.

Please note: I did this a couple of times on fiberglass tanks, and had to be very careful about not achieving too much vacuum. You'd be amazed how fast you can distort the shape with only a couple of inches of pressure differential. It doesn't take much, to pull the sealant into the voids.

I haven't pressure tested my tanks yet, but this is the system that I'm holding in reserve. Unless I'm missing something, seems it ought to work.

Has anyone tried this on the SR tanks? Failed? Worked? Other thoughts?

Bill Delcambre

----- Original Message -----
From: LisaFly99@aol.com (LisaFly99@aol.com)
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com (murphy-rebel@dcsol.com)
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: testing tanks


In a message dated 8/8/02 5:59:18 AM Central Daylight Time, RJBWoodman@aol.com (RJBWoodman@aol.com) writes:

Other wing i am strugling with a leak that is on a stringer. Several rivets are leaking on the same stringer. Sounds simple since we know where the leak is located. Problem is you can't see where you are trying to seal. Will try the third attempt soon. Good luck.
Randy Bowers SR130

RANDY
I had a problem working inside of my Rebel tanks through the assess holes, couldn't see the area I needed to work on. Took a small security camera I had and the TV monitor shoved the camera and a flash light in the tank and could see any where I pointed the camera.
Phil&Lisa Smith
N414D
R460

Mike Kimball did this on the wing that I helped him with. He just stuck his shop vac hose in the filler neck, and then using his hand covered the excess opening enough to get the tank to oil can a little bit. It seemed to work really well, after using this method no more leaks were found. Note that he hasn't put any fuel in those wings yet though.

Mike Davis
195SR

----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Delcambre (bdelcambre@cox-internet.com)
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com (murphy-rebel@dcsol.com)
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 5:37 AM
Subject: Re: testing tanks


You know, guys, something that worked really well, for me, was to use a vacuum pump to pull just a slight negative pressure on the tank and paint on sealant on the outside, where the leak was. This pulled the sealant into the crevice. My theory was that it was not only easier, but actually pulled the sealant into the crack, as opposed to painting on the outside. Once done, I've never had a recurrence of leaking.

Please note: I did this a couple of times on fiberglass tanks, and had to be very careful about not achieving too much vacuum. You'd be amazed how fast you can distort the shape with only a couple of inches of pressure differential. It doesn't take much, to pull the sealant into the voids.

I haven't pressure tested my tanks yet, but this is the system that I'm holding in reserve. Unless I'm missing something, seems it ought to work.

Has anyone tried this on the SR tanks? Failed? Worked? Other thoughts?

Bill Delcambre

----- Original Message -----
From: LisaFly99@aol.com (LisaFly99@aol.com)
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com (murphy-rebel@dcsol.com)
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: testing tanks


In a message dated 8/8/02 5:59:18 AM Central Daylight Time, RJBWoodman@aol.com (RJBWoodman@aol.com) writes:

Other wing i am strugling with a leak that is on a stringer. Several rivets are leaking on the same stringer. Sounds simple since we know where the leak is located. Problem is you can't see where you are trying to seal. Will try the third attempt soon. Good luck.
Randy Bowers SR130

RANDY
I had a problem working inside of my Rebel tanks through the assess holes, couldn't see the area I needed to work on. Took a small security camera I had and the TV monitor shoved the camera and a flash light in the tank and could see any where I pointed the camera.
Phil&Lisa Smith
N414D
R460

I gained visual access to the inside of the tanks by using a trouble light and
mirror just small enough to fit into the hole. Tilted mirror as required to see
what I needed. Every move of the hand this way is in reverse however the mind
quickly adjusts to the reverse movements. I coated all my rivets (2 x 6 bays)
from the inside this way. I've mentioned before but the best way (which I only
figured out near completion) was to use an icing bag to which I modified the
nozzel with a bit of tubing to just fit over the pulled side of the rivet. This
I placed over the rivet follwed by a squeeze. Not only neat but went very
quickly.

Now that I'm back from OSK and leave I'll pressure test my second wing. Still
have a pin hole somewhere on my first wing that I gave up on and will return to
after the second wing passes.

Good luck
Warren
Dubai, UAE
Moose 029




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